Friday, March 20, 2009

To defer or not to defer

That is the question.

At least, the most recent question.

As the newest part of our MBA school drama, we've added the possibility of deferral to our mix of possible options. (Isn't it great? By next week we'll be considering two more things that had never crossed our minds before!)

Deferral hadn't entered into my thinking at all until I met with the admissions guy at BYU earlier this week. After he told me that I had been accepted into the program, he said if he could give me one piece of advice it would be to defer for a year.

The reason I would possibly do this is to give myself more time to gain work experience before starting my MBA. Companies that recruit MBAs like to see that you have a lot of valuable work experience before your MBA, and taking another year off would really beef up my application.

The nice thing, too, is that all three of the schools can hold my spot for me for one year, so I don't have to go through the whole admissions process as well. There's a small chance that I wouldn't receive as good of scholarships next as year as I would this year, but I think the chance is small. (At least, the schools have told me that the chance is small.)

There are several advantages to deferring. First, I do like my job, and a small part of me would enjoy having another year here to accomplish some great things. Second, we would be able to save more money. Third, we wouldn't have to move—yet. Etc.

There are big disadvantages, too, the largest of which is that we would wait an entire year before starting a program.

We're very torn right now, but we're taking our time with the decision and hoping to make the best decision possible. I'm sure, in the end, we'll make a good choice. For now all of you can enjoy our little drama (at least the parts we blog about).

5 comments:

  1. As you make your decision on deferring, consider the possibility that your time in deferral could be like an investment, in the short term (a one year is definitely the short term) you won't be getting towards where you want to be, but in the long term you could be greatly increasing your chances of success. Part of my trouble with trying to get internships and meaningful employment (aside from the fact that I don't have a name) is that many of my peers have resumes far more distinguished than mine that I could have gotten if I had maybe waited a few years before going back to school. Anyway, don't dismiss it out of hand.

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  2. If it were me, I'd rather just continue school and get it over with! It might be easier to go to school while you are still in the hang of being a student. Camber and I've only been out for just over 2 years, but the thought of going back to school right now just makes me say "UGH!"

    Maybe business grad school is different, but if my hubby had deferred going to medical school for another year, it would have just prolonged the process and gotten him nowhere at that time.

    My opinion is limited as far as your situation goes, but I say, just get started now so you can move on with your life. :)

    Oh, and go to OSU! ;)

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  3. Hey Rachel,

    Actually, business school is VERY different from medical school that way. Finding a job after business school usually depends quite a bit more on what your previous work experience was than your performance during graduate school (that often matters very little, actually).

    Business schools are sort of unique that way. They put the highest premium on what experience you had before you started the program.

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  4. I say defer. That would be the best idea of all. You can really knock their socks off if you defer. That's my two cents.

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  5. You are all very mysterious. Everyone just signs their first name. "Jon." I know about 15 Jons. Which are you? (An ending initial would be nice.) :)

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